WKU Swimmer Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Team

With the conclusion of the women's 100-meter butterfly in the 2012 Olympic swimming trials, Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer will be joined by Western Kentucky University's Claire Donahue on the U.S. Olympic Swim Team! (Cue Jaclyn singing the WKU fight song in the background.)

I gotta be honest, I didn't know this was happening tonight, so when Chad called with the news, I just about fell out of this chair. As you may know, I'm a Hilltopper tried and true.

When Ty Rogers nailed that three-pointer in 2008 to clinch an NCAA Tournament first-round win, I screamed till I was hoarse! (And I was on the air, so not so good, right?)

When the all-new Ray Harper-led Tops won seven straight games and made an unlikely appearance in the 2012 Tournament, I bronzed my lucky Western shirt.

And now, I cannot wait to see a gen-u-WINE Hilltopper in the 2012 Olympics in London later this summer! I don't watch a lot of the Olympics, but Claire Donahue swimming for the U.S.A. will have my full attention.

In qualifying on Tuesday night, Claire finished with a time of 57.57, good enough for second place behind Dana Vollmer's 56.50 and a spot on the U.S. team. This has to be incredibly exciting for Claire, her family, and the entire Western Kentucky University community which--yes, indeed--stretches all the way up the William Natcher Parkway to Owensboro!